During the clean-up of a flooded area it is often desirable to quickly remove large quantities of water. One cannot typically remove enough water with manual mopping. Further, conventional water pumps are not suitable for such an application because they must be located at the site of the flooding, require power which is not always readily available, and are not well suited for removing water from a relatively shallow depth. Further, if the flooded area contains solid debris, such as is often the case after a structural fire or a flood, the debris can plug the inlet ports of such water pumps and render them inoperable. Alternately, wet and dry vacuum devices may be used for such clean-up operations, but they require frequent emptying which is inconvenient.
A combination water pump and wet-dry vacuum apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,104 to Brown. Jr., issued on Mar. 21, 1978. This type of device includes a wet-dry vacuum means that further includes a water pumping means contained in a tank that collects the water and debris. When the water level in the tank reaches a predetermined level, the water pump is activated by a float-switch device. If the water rises to an even higher maximum water level, a float opens a switch that shuts off power to the vacuum pump. A long vacuum hose may be attached at the inlet port of such a device so that the device does not have to be frequently relocated. While such a device has many desirable characteristics, the sudden deactivation of the vacuum pump can cause confusion to the person using the device, who is left to determine whether or not the power has been shut off by someone at the device, it the power cord has been unplugged, of a power failure has occurred, or if the maximum water level has been reached and the device is working properly. Further, such a device is not easily moved when full of water. Still further, in the event that the maximum water level is exceeded, such as might occur if the trip-off switch becomes inoperative, water can enter the vacuum pump and cause considerable damage thereto.
Clearly, then, there is a need for a device that overcomes the drawbacks associated with the prior art. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.